Looking at this guy who had been playing the sympathy card for ages, his only goal, this 'honest young man,' was to freeload a bottle of water from her.
The corner of Lin Siqi's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
And Zhang Beixing's next sentence nearly made her lose control and punch him square in his big face.
"Um, Sister Qi, got any food? Toss some my way."
Zhang Beixing stretched out his hand, his logic neither sound nor his demeanor confident, but shamelessly persistent.
Lin Siqi stiffened.
Her fists clenched.
So, Beixing, you're really pushing it, huh? Freeloading a bottle of water was one thing, but now he's asking for food too? I really am...
"Here, take it and eat!" Lin Siqi snapped, then, reluctantly, she took a bag of Peach and Plum Bread from her small cart and handed it to Zhang Beixing.
Zhang Beixing grinned, said a quick "thanks," and started wolfing down the food.
It wasn't that he enjoyed taking small advantages; he was just extremely hungry. Since he got up this morning, he had either been looking for Teacher Liu or practicing his boxing. Last night's food had long been digested. If he didn't eat something now, he'd probably pass out halfway through his run.
"Eat slowly, don't rush. Chew thoroughly, understand? Don't choke," Lin Siqi couldn't help but remind him, watching Zhang Beixing eat as if he hadn't seen food in eight hundred years.
At this moment, she suddenly had the distinct feeling of being a mother, worrying herself sick over her clueless, silly son.
Fortunately, Zhang Beixing managed to finish all the bread without choking.
He finished his sports drink in one gulp and let out a satisfied belch.
He cheerfully told Lin Siqi, "Thanks, I'll treat you to a meal someday."
Then he began to jog around the track.
After all, it wasn't appropriate to engage in intense exercise right after eating. A slow jog was good too; he could consider it progress for his abdominal breathing technique.
「Half an hour later.」
He saw the progress for his abdominal breathing technique change: the requirement had gone from 7km remaining out of 10km, to only 2km remaining out of 10km.
0.1 Ability Points were credited.
Zhang Beixing didn't hesitate to add them to his Constitution.
The physical exertion from jogging and his fatigue were somewhat relieved.
The heavy sensation in his stomach from the meal was gone.
Zhang Beixing began to pick up his pace, and soon, he settled into a tempo run. He ran like this for the entire morning.
During this time, Zhang Beixing did slow down several times. But his version of 'slowing down' was merely transitioning from a tempo run to a jog, or even a walk; his feet never stopped moving for a single moment!
It was as if... he wasn't human, but a tireless machine!
Even though Lin Siqi had known this two days ago, watching him now, she still couldn't help but feel astounded! Such formidable willpower, such abundant stamina. Was this really something a guy who had spent three years of university cooped up in his dorm playing video games could possess? If it weren't for that familiar, slightly roguish air in Zhang Beixing's speech and mannerisms, she would have suspected he'd truly been possessed by some strange entity!
「Time passed.」
As the sun began to set, Zhang Beixing's workout came to an end.
Today, he had run a total of twenty-five kilometers and walked thirteen kilometers. Including the 0.1 Ability Point from the morning's abdominal breathing technique, he had acquired a total of 2.9 Ability Points.
Zhang Beixing allocated all these Ability Points to his Constitution, bringing the attribute to 70 and leaving him with 0.4 Ability Points remaining.
It wasn't that he didn't want to add more; the System simply wouldn't let him! After his Constitution reached 70, no matter how many times Zhang Beixing tried to allocate points, the System didn't respond. His attributes didn't increase, and his Ability Points weren't deducted. He tried adding points to Spirit, but there was no response there either. Only when he allocated points to Power were the Ability Points deducted and the attribute increased.
At first, Zhang Beixing was puzzled by these restrictions. But later, while browsing Douyin, he saw a video of an old Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor teaching basketball, and he instantly understood.
The old TCM doctor said, "When playing basketball, running is only supplementary. The ultimate goal is to make shots, to score! Running too much is no good, but being unable to make shots or score is also no good! Shooting at the right moment is the key to victory."
However, upon further reflection, Zhang Beixing increasingly felt that what the old TCM doctor was saying wasn't really about basketball at all. But... that didn't matter! What was important was that, through the old TCM doctor's words, he understood why he couldn't add more points to his Constitution. He had been too focused on one aspect, too obsessed with escaping his sub-health state. He had completely forgotten that a truly healthy person not only needs good Constitution but also needs their Power to keep pace! If one only has good Constitution but abysmal Power, that isn't health—that's malnutrition!
"It seems my Constitution and Power attributes need balanced development; I can't just focus on boosting one!" he thought. "Currently, if I get all my attributes to 70, I'll be considered 'healthy' and completely free from the sub-health state. But what about above 70? If I boost all my attributes to 100, would that be considered 'elite athlete' level?"
Zhang Beixing had analyzed the System. He estimated that an attribute value of 70 should correspond to a healthy state of Constitution, while below 70 was sub-health. As for above 70…
"Will I directly reach the human limit? Am I going to stop being human?!" he wondered.
「In the following days.」
Many people noticed that on the Shi University sports field, besides Lin Siqi, another handsome sight had appeared.
This new sight was, naturally, Zhang Beixing.
Like Lin Siqi, whenever he wasn't in class, he was mostly on the sports field, running and exercising. He even practiced Yue Family Fists there.
As for why he no longer went to the small grove of trees...
On one hand, he found it too troublesome. On the other, it was because this particular grove, a place that held memories for countless generations of students, had been sealed off.
And the reason it was sealed off was precisely Zhang Beixing.
This incident had started a few days prior. Zhang Beixing was practicing his punches in the small grove when, on a whim, he let out a loud shout.
Ordinarily, this wouldn't have been a big deal. The problem was, he was practicing at night, and at that time, quite a few people were... *cavorting* in the grove.
Imagine this: it's the dead of night, spirits are high, you and your significant other are locked in a tight embrace, just about to ascend to the heights of ecstasy.
And then...
"HEE-YAH!"
The voice of some brat suddenly echoed from the depths of the darkness.
And it was incredibly loud.
The resulting psychological trauma was simply indescribable!
As a result, the incident was posted directly to the Shi University online confession page, where fellow students jokingly nicknamed him the 'Hee-Yah Sage.'
When Zhang Beixing saw how big the situation had become, he beat a hasty retreat.
He thought that would be the end of it. But who could have guessed that the people he had scared off wouldn't let the matter drop? They started spending all day lurking in the small grove, waiting for Zhang Beixing to show up again.
However, they didn't manage to catch Zhang Beixing. Instead, Teacher Liu appeared.
This was especially true when Teacher Liu, while practicing his boxing, let out a peculiar "HEE-YAH!" cry.
The people who had been scared by Zhang Beixing didn't even think twice or bother to look. They immediately swarmed him and began their "revenge."
And then... well, Teacher Liu disappeared for three days, only reappearing today. Simultaneously, the small grove was declared off-limits, and those who had assaulted Teacher Liu each received a major demerit and were suspended to reflect on their actions at home.
"Uh... Teacher Liu, are you alright?" Zhang Beixing asked with a sheepish smile, watching Teacher Liu approach with a limp in the corridor.
If he hadn't said anything, it might have been fine. But as soon as the words left his mouth, Teacher Liu's face turned visibly red, clearly still fuming.